Tag Archives: Palestine

BBC Expert Says The Israel-Palestine Conflict ‘Will Continue’ Despite Trump’s Peace Plan

Posted on by
Reply

The conflict between Israel and Palestine “will continue” despite Donald Trump’s peace plan, a BBC expert has said.

Jeremy Bowen said the US president had “scored a diplomatic triumph” in securing a ceasefire and the imminent release of the remaining Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

As part of the deal, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza and around 250 Palestinian prisoners, as well as 1,700 other Gazan detainees, will also be freed.

Keir Starmer will join world leaders, including Donald Trump, at a peace summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt on Monday.

But speaking on BBC1′s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Bowen insisted there were numerous hurdles still to be cleared before a long-term peace is in place.

He said: “The ceasefire at the moment seems pretty OK, not least because the Americans are pushing the Israelis very strongly not to break it.

“However, in terms of governance of Gaza, security in Gaza for the Palestinians and for the Israelis over the border, for the future economy of the territory, and also the idea of having a multi-national force in place, none of these things, the really difficult stuff, has been agreed.

“The Trump 20-point plan points to where they want it to go and what the objective is. How you get there hasn’t been worked out and that’s where the real problems, I think, are going to start.

“When there are problems in that process, that will impact on the stability ultimately of the ceasefire.”

He added: “Today and tomorrow are days for everybody to celebrate and it’s absolutely right to say that Donald Trump has scored a diplomatic triumph in making this happen so quickly.

“But underlying everything that’s happening is this conflict between Israelis and Palestinians for control of the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea that started more than a century ago.

“It’s complicated, it’s multi-faceted, it’s multi-layered, and it’s generational. And until the fundamentals of that are sorted out and settled in a way that both sides can accept, sadly I’m absolutely certain that the conflict will continue.”

Share Button

Keir Starmer Is Set To Formally Recognise A Palestinian State. Here’s Why That Matters

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer is set to formally announce the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state today.

Britain will then be joining France, Canada and Australia who will all acknowledge the State of Palestine officially at the United Nations’ General Assembly on Monday.

The state encompasses two separate territories, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, all of which are currently known as the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

It comes after Israel failed to meet the conditions the UK set out – taking “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza”, reaching a ceasefire, ending the annexation in the West Bank and committing to a long-term two-state solution – all of which Starmer said would lead him to drop his recognition plan plan.

Instead, Israel has continued with its violent offensive in Gaza, which has already killed more than 65,000 people in the enclave.

It also comes after a UN commission of inquiry concluded Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, although Israel said that was “distorted and false”.

While the decision has been welcomed by Palestinians, Israel is reportedly considering options in response to the UK’s decision.

Here’s what you need to know.

What does it mean to recognise Palestine as a state?

According to the Montevideo Convention of 1933, to be recognised as a state, Palestine needs to have a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government and international relations and formal diplomatic processes.

But Starmer is yet to confirm where he believes those exact borders are or who will run the new state – two highly contentious issues.

Gaza is currently run by the Hamas militants, who initiated the October 7 attack on Israel in 2023, killed 1,200 people and took 250 people hostage.

Starmer has insisted he does not want them to be in power, but it remains unclear who will take over.

The UK has also indicated it wants to move towards a peace deal which would recognise Palestine based on the 1967 borders, but Israel has encroached on more Palestinian land in the decades since then.

Still, it is more of a symbolic move than anything else, as it legitimises Palestinians’ rights to hold onto their land in Gaza, annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

It also undermines Israel’s ongoing push to remove Palestinians from the region, especially as the UK is an Israeli ally.

It’s a notable break from past UK foreign policy, as multiple governments have ruled that recognition should be part of the peace process and implemented at a time of maximum impact.

Labour now says it is a moral responsibility to show long-term peace is possible amid struggling efforts to secure a ceasefire.

Out of 193 United Nations member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state around the world, including more than a dozen in Europe.

But France, China and Russia are the only other permanent members of the UN Security Council to already take this diplomatic step.

How have Palestinians reacted?

Palestinians have been pushing to be an independent state ever since Israel’s occupation in the 1967 Six-Day war.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian, told Sky News that this move was “better later than never”.

“Britain, with its weight, can influence other countries to come forward and recognise, because this is the right thing to do,” she said.

She said Britain was taking a “courageous step at a very difficult time”.

But she added that she is “very angry” with the States for its “unwavering support for Israel” and that Israel’s decision not to pass on tax revenue was pushing Palestinian civil society to the brink of “collapse”.

She also said recognising Palestine was not a reward for Hamas, but “if we wait until Israel decides it wants to go into negotiations with the Palestinians then it won’t happen”.

Aghabekian added that Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority which governs the West Bank, has “given guarantees in letters to various leaders around the globe that said Hamas will not be part of the governance of the Gaza Strip”.

Yet she also revealed that it was “not reasonable” to try to completely erase Hamas, as it is an “ideology”.

What is Israel’s reaction?

Israel has refused to give into the UK’s demands, claiming it would reward the Hamas militants, who still hold 48 hostages – 20 of whom are thought to still be alive.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said recognising Palestine would be “rewarding terror”.

Family members of those captives also wrote an open letter to Starmer on Saturday, urging him not to make the step until they are released.

They said this has “dramatically complicated efforts to bring home our loved ones. Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal.”

What happens next?

This is a symbol more than anything else, so there is unlikely to be an immediate impact – but it does strengthen the Palestinian cause, especially as the UK is actually an Israeli ally.

The UK is also expected to declare new sanctions on Hamas later today.

However, Israel’s strongest ally, the US, seems unlikely to follow suit.

In the UK this week, Donald Trump told reporters that Palestinian recognition was one of the “few” areas he and Starmer disagree.

As long as the White House continues to offer its unwavering military support for Israel, it’s unclear how this declaration from the UK will alter the devastating situation on the ground in Gaza right now.

Share Button

Starmer Finally Announces Plan To Formally Recognise Palestinian State In September Unless Israel Acts

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer has finally outlined a plan for the UK to formally recognise a Palestinian state this autumn.

A government readout from the prime minister’s meeting with his cabinet said Starmer plans to “recognise the state of Palestine in September” before the UN’s General Assembly.

However, the Downing Street release clarified this would not happen if “the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a Two State Solution.”

The prime minister said neither party will get a veto over whether he decides to recognise Palestine as a state in September.

He also “reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm.”

It means the UK will become the 148th country to either formally recognise Palestine – or announce its intentions to do so – unless Israel takes action on Gaza.

The decision was announced after the prime minister called his cabinet ministers back to Westminster in the middle of their summer recess to discuss the growing concerns about starvation in Gaza.

The worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory already pushed Starmer’s ally, French president Emmanuel Macron, to announce his own plan to recognise the Palestinian state this autumn.

More than 250 MPs – including some in Labour – have also signed a letter calling on Starmer to follow Macron’s lead.

According to some reports, up to seven cabinet ministers are doing the same.

But the prime minister has, until now, resisted. Ministers have told the press it is a matter of “when, not if” the UK recognises Palestine as a state, but they have refused to offer a clear timeline.

However, Starmer did get Donald Trump’s stamp of approval on Monday to recognise Palestine on Monday.

The US president said: “I’m not going to take a position, I don’t mind him [Starmer] taking a position. I’m looking for getting people fed right now.”

In the readout, the prime minister told his colleagues now was the time to recognise Palestine.

He said: “The increasingly intolerable situation in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of a peace process towards a two state solution, now was the right time to move this position forward.”

Campaigners and charities around the world have repeatedly raised the alarm in recent weeks that mass starvation is taking place in Gaza right now.

There are hopes that by recognising Palestine, there will be more pressure on Israel to end its military offensive and let more aid into the territory.

However, it remains to be seen just how much of an impact this will have on Israel.

The country still has the support of its most powerful ally, the States, although Trump has raised concerns about mass starvation.

Israel has been attacking Gaza since October 7, 2023.

According to the local, Hamas-run health ministry, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 22 months since the war began.

While tensions between Palestinians and Israelis were already high, they escalated after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people on Israeli soil and took a further 250 hostage.

Some of those captives have been released but 50 remain in Hamas’s hands.

Share Button

Kemi Badenoch Says She Believes Israel Is Allowing Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza

Posted on by
Reply

Kemi Badenoch has insisted she believes Israel is still getting humanitarian aid into Gaza despite growing fears of famine.

The Tory leader’s remarks come amid growing concerns that people in the Palestinian territory are facing mass starvation due Israel’s blockade of relief.

More than 100 non-governmental organisations issued a statement this week saying the “Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families”.

Israel did announce over the weekend that it would allow airdrops of relief into the Palestinian territory, and promised it would implement a “tactical pause” in its military operation in three parts of Gaza to help ease the humanitarian crisis.

But speaking to Sky News this morning, the Tory leader suggested her support for Israel had not wavered despite the international community’s fears.

Presenter Trevor Phillips asked for Badenoch’s reaction to Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof’s claim that Israel has been “lying” about the food crisis in Gaza.

She said: “I disagree with that. What I am seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in. This has been an unbelievably difficult situation, it’s been heartbreaking seeing some of those pictures, hearing some of those stories.

“What we allow want to see is this awful war coming to an end. And that will happen when those hostages are released and we get a ceasefire.”

Phillips asked: “Have those pictures at all led your pretty much unwavering support for Israel to waver?”

“No, no. War is a difficult situation,” she replied. “What I see when I see Israel is a country that is trying to defend itself, mostly from Iran and a lot of its proxies – Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis. I think they’re in a very difficult situation.

“And what worries me is the length of time this war has been going on makes it very difficult for the people in Palestinian territories and also for Israel, we need to bring things to an end.”

Phillips pointed out that polling suggests Brits are moving away from supporting Israel, to which the Tory leader said she is “somebody who believes in looking at what’s actually happening”.

“The right thing is for there to a ceasefire. A lot of people are suffering on both sides, but we must’n’t forget how this started,” she claimed.

“On October 7, a massacre occurred. It was an act of war. There are still people who are being held hostage and they need to be brought home.

“All of this could be brought to an end, except that those territories are being run by a terrorist organisation. We cannot allow it to go on.”

Asked if there was anything Israel is doing which she would not support, the leader of the opposition said that Israel has a “responsibility to make sure aid gets through.”

But she noted: “I also know that allowing a terrorist organisation to win is not going to be safe, not just for Israel, but for the rest of the world.

“This is how they get incubated. And then 10, 15, 20 years’ time, the rest of us suffer for it. We need to bring this sort of terrorism to an end.”

Existing tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians soared when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people on Israeli soil and took a further 251 people hostage.

Israel declared war and imposed a blockade on Gaza while also launching missile strikes across the territory.

According to the local Hamas-run health ministry, more than 61,000 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began.

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="Twitter" data-component-id="1474" data-component-props="{"itemType":"rich","index":29,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

#TrevorPhillips: What’s your reaction to Bob Geldof’s accusation that the Israelis are lying about the situation in Gaza?

Kemi Badenoch: \"I disagree with that. What I’m seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in… \" pic.twitter.com/n5RDTXrTDA

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) July 27, 2025

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK","cache_age":86400,"description":"#TrevorPhillips: What’s your reaction to Bob Geldof’s accusation that the Israelis are lying about the situation in Gaza? Kemi Badenoch: \"I disagree with that. What I’m seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in… \" pic.twitter.com/n5RDTXrTDA— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) July 27, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1949386782648250368/pu/img/TTstSqZs8c80N2Ss.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1152,"title":"Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1949386886134526377","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isAdsFree":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6885ea70e4b00fcf3e6f970f","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kemi-badenoch-says-she-believes-israel-is-allowing-humanitarian-aid-into-gaza_uk_6885ea70e4b00fcf3e6f970f","entryTagsList":"israel,sky-news,kemi-badenoch,gaza,palestine","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"isShopping":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"16b0ecc6-802c-4120-845f-e90629812c4d","clickToPlayPlayer":"823ac03a-0f7e-4bcb-8521-a5b091ae948d","videoPagePlayer":"05041ada-93f7-4e86-9208-e03a5b19311b","defaultPlaylist":"2e062669-71b4-41df-b17a-df6b1616bc8f"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6885ea70e4b00fcf3e6f970f","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"Israel","slug":"israel","links":{"relativeLink":"news/israel","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/israel","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/israel"},"relegenceId":3989007,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/israel/"},{"name":"sky news","slug":"sky-news","links":{"relativeLink":"news/sky-news","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/sky-news","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/sky-news"},"relegenceId":3514968,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/sky-news/"},{"name":"kemi badenoch","slug":"kemi-badenoch","links":{"relativeLink":"news/kemi-badenoch","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kemi-badenoch","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kemi-badenoch"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kemi-badenoch/"},{"name":"gaza","slug":"gaza","links":{"relativeLink":"news/gaza","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gaza","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gaza"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/gaza/"},{"name":"Palestine","slug":"palestine","links":{"relativeLink":"news/palestine","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/palestine","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/palestine"},"relegenceId":3537831,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/palestine/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","enableIncontentPlayer":false,"bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

#TrevorPhillips: What’s your reaction to Bob Geldof’s accusation that the Israelis are lying about the situation in Gaza?

Kemi Badenoch: “I disagree with that. What I’m seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in… ” pic.twitter.com/n5RDTXrTDA

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) July 27, 2025

Labour minister James Murray also told Sky News that the UK would recognise a Palestine state, describing it as a case of “when not if”. However, he refused to put a clear timeline on it.

It comes after French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed he would formally announce Palestine statehood in September.

Share Button